Bollards



Jan. 15, 1963 c. w. TAYLOR 3,073,276

BOLLARDS Filed Jan. 13, 1961 2- Sheets-Sheet 1 Jan. 15, 1963 c. w. TAYLOR BOLLARDS Filed Jan. 13, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 lV///////ZZ E 7 If *1] 27 ire rates When a ship is tied up to a wharf or jetty, in the event of fire on board the ship, or on the wharf or jetty (and especially in the case of tanker ships) it may be urgently necessary to release the moorings to enable the ship to be moved away.

An object of the present invention is to make it unnecessaryto unhitch or untie mooring ropes attached to bollards and under substantial strain, either in such an emergency or in other circumstances, for example, when mooring ropes are heavy and difiicult to handle.

The invention provides a rotatable bollard having a body of such form that upon rotation thereof, by suitable associated means that are self-locking or capable of being locked, a rope tied to the bollard or attached thereto by an eye is displaced so as to be disconnected under its own strain from the bollard.

Means according to the invention will be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, wherein FIG. 1 is a front elevation of an embodiment of a bollard,

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the same,

FIG. 3 is a side elevation, partly in section on the line III-III of FIG. 1, and

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a mode of operation of bollards.

As shown in FIGS. 1-3, the bollard 1 has a body 2 comprising at least a single turn of a helix (between pitch centres A, B) said helix having a large section and being integral with a circular, rotatable base 3. The suitable form of such helix, for mooring of large ships, may be a round section having a diameter D of about 250 mm., coiled with a pitch A-B of about'4l0 mm. and having a mean pitch circle diameter of about 360-420 mm., so that the diameter of the base 3, into which said helix merges eccentrically, is not less than about 610- 665 mm.

The bollard is mounted on a vertical axis. The base 3 is downwardly extended to provide a frusto-conical bearing member 4, with downwardly projecting square shank 5 which is engaged by an opposed frusto-conical member 6. The two parts 4 and 6 are secured together by a washer 7 on a screwed spigot 8- projecting' downwardly from the square extension 5, and secured by a nut 9 on said spigot. The opposed frusto-conical surfaces of the members 4 and 6 are supported by corresponding surfaces 10 and 11 of a base pedestal 13, which may for example be a steel casting, and provides a collar 14 surrounding the circular base 3 of the bollard. The casting 13 is reinforced by four oblique ribs 15 between which are located a series of holes 16 for securing bolts.

The conical member 6 has at its lower end, which may bear upon a base plate 17, a flange 18. The upper surface of said flange is machined to provide a toothed bevel gear ring 19 which is engaged by a bevel pinion 20 mounted on a shaft 21 supported horizontally in a boss 22 at one side of the casting 13 with the aid of a thrust bearing 23. The cavity 12 in which said pinion 20 is housed may be packed with lubricant, and provided with a duct and nipple to enable re-charging.

The bollard may be operable by manual gear means, or by gear means driven from a power source such as an electric motor, applied to the shaft 21 at a more or less remote location from the bollard.

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For example, the bollard may be mounted, as shown in FIG. 3, with its base pedestal and operating means sunk into a pit or channel 24 in a deck or surface of a wharf or jetty, provided with cover plate means 25 having an aperture to surround the collar 14 of the base pedestal 13. There may be attached to the remote end of the shaft 21 a worm wheel (not shown) engaged by a worm mounted on a vertical spindle in a mounting which projects upwardly through the cover plate 25 and is provided at its upper end with a hand wheel for manual operation.

It will be appreciated that the use of bevel gears within the base of the bollard and a worm gear applied to the shaft 21 as above referred to, is merely one example of numerous mechanical equivalents which may be employed for rotating the body 2 of the bollard. Of these various alternatives it maybe mentioned that the bevel gear ring 19 and pinion 20 may be substituted for example by (a) A worm wheel ring cut in the flange 18 of the member 6 and engaged by a worm on a horizontal shaft disposed tangentially to said flange 18; or

(b) A chain sprocket ring secured to or machined in said flange 18 and engaged by an endless roller chain disposed in a horizontal plane and about a small sprocket mounted on the lower end of a vertical operating shaft; or

(c) A spur gear ring secured to or formed in the flange 18 and in mesh with a pinion on a vertical operating shaft either directly or through a train of gears; or

(d) Such a spur gear ring engaged by a rack operable remotely by screw thread means with or without the aid of gearing; or

(e) A ratchet ring engaged by suitable pawl means on a tangentially disposed, elongated member which is capable of oscillation by a lever.

The bollard may be continuously rotatable in one or both of opposite directions, or may be rotatable through at least one revolution in opposite directions, as when it is operable by a rack.

When a bollard according to the invention is sunk into a deck or surface of a wharf or jetty as shown in FIG. 3, a mooring rope having a large, soft eye can be secured to the bollard simply by throwing the open eye over the bollard, when it will assume a position of engagement with the helix safely remote from the free end 26 thereof. For example, in FIGS. 2 and 3 such a rope eye R is shown respectively at angles of 120 and 90 from said free end 26. If it should happen that the rope is required to extend in a direction substantially coincident with the end 26 of the helix, it will be understood when the eye of the rope is thrown over the bollard so as to lie upon the cover plate 25, on tension being applied to the rope it will move upwardly until it bears upon the base of the helix substantially in the transverse plane through the pitch centre B, so that automatically it is safely anchored to the bollard. Evidently, two or more such ropes extending in different directions can likewise be secured to a single bollard.

In order to release a rope moored to the bollard as above described, the body 1 is rotated in the direction of arrow E so that the eye of the rope R, which is in tension, will ride up the helix in the opposite direction until it falls from the free upper end 26 and is so released.

' In no case is it required to rotate the bollard through 3 ropes R1, R2 to a pair of bollards 1. The driving shaft 21 of each bollard is connected to the worm wheel in a worm gear 27, the driving worm shaft of which is coupled to anelectric motor ,28. The twomotors are connected by electric leads 29 to ,a power source 30 by'way of a starter 31 mountedonthe wharf. Thus, on actuation of the start button inthe starter 31 the two motors 28 may be simultaneously energized to rotate the bollards 1 and release the mooring ropes. Advantageously, control leads for the motors 28 may be extended frornthe starter 31 by a flexible electric cable 32 to .switch means carried on board the ship S, for example to a push button starter 33 mounted on theships bridge. .Desirably the flexible cable 32 is divided and at the division each end of the cable is connectedto one of a pair of coupling elements 34, adapted to be pluggedoneinto the other. Suitable interlocking mean's areprovided in the starter 31 to enable the motors tobe energised by either the start button in said starter or the fstart button 33 on board the ship, a stop button being provided only in the starter 31. Thus, when it is desired to unmoor the ship from the wharf it is necessary only to start the motors 28 to release the mooring ropes. vIn an emergency, for example in the event 'offfire on board the ship or on the wharf or jetty, and especially in the case of tanker ships,

the moorings can immediately be'released by operation of the startbutton 33on'theship, without it being necessary for any personnel to be'available on the wharf or for any crew members to move from the ship to the wharf for releasingtheropes, while the coupling elements 34 will separate asisoon as thefflexiblecable 32 is put under tension.

WhatI desire to claimand secure by LettersPatent is: 1. A bollard havinga body'comprising atleast a single turn of a helix of large section, a rotatable base comprising opposed. frusto conical members, one of said members being integralwith said body, the other of said members being attached thereto for joint rotation, a base pedestal affording opposed frusto-conical bearing surfaces for said members, drive means for rotating said body and 4 said members housed in said pedestal and a drive shaft supported in and extending from said. pedestal.

2. A bollard as claimed in claim 1, wherein said helix bodyandsaid frusto-conical members are mounted on a vertical axis, said other frusto-conical member tapers upwardly and has a base flange, said flange comprises a driven gear element, a driving gear element in mesh With said driven gear element is housed within said pedestal, and said drive shaft having said'driving gear element secured thereto is supported horizontally in said pedestal.

3. Means for mooring a ship to a wharf, comprising in combination at least two bollards, each bollard having a body comprising at least a single turn of a shaftless helix of large round section, a rotatable base integral with said body, mounting means for said base, and means whereby said base and said body are rotatable, said bollard being mounted on said wharf, a drive shaft included in said means whereby the body and base of each of said bollards is rotatable, an electric motor connected to each of said drive shafts, electric power supply leads to'each of said motors, and a common control gear in said leads, and mounted on said wharf, for simultaneously controlling said electric motors.

4. Mooring means as claimed in claim 3, further'comprising a motor starter mounted on said ship, and a flexible electric lead extending from said starter to said control gear.

5. Mooring means as claimed in claim 4, wherein said flexible lead includes co-operating elements of an electric coupling separable under tension.

6. A bollard having a body comprising at least a single turn of a shaftless' helix of large round section, said section having a diameter less than its pitch circle, a rotatable base integral with said body, fixed pedestal mounting means for said base, said mounting means being capable of withstanding large radial tension forces applied to said helix, and power means affording a mechanical advantage whereby said base and said body are rotatable.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 136,55 5 Smith Mar. 4, 1873 270,200 Brigg Jan. 4, 1883 810,042 Duncan Jan. 16, 1906 1,268,245 Holland June 4, 1918 2,512,068 Mayo June 20, 1950 

1. A BOLLARD HAVING A BODY COMPRISING AT LEAST A SINGLE TURN OF A HELIX OF LARGE SECTION, A ROTATABLE BASE COMPRISING OPPOSED FRUSTO CONICAL MEMBERS, ONE OF SAID MEMBERS BEING INTEGRAL WITH SAID BODY, THE OTHER OF SAID MEMBERS BEING ATTACHED THERETO FOR JOINT ROTATION, A BASE PEDESTAL AFFORDING OPPOSED FRUSTO-CONICAL BEARING SURFACES FOR SAID MEMBERS, DRIVE MEANS FOR ROTATING SAID BODY AND SAID MEMBERS HOUSED IN SAID PEDESTAL AND A DRIVE SHAFT SUPPORTED IN AND EXTENDING FROM SAID PEDESTAL. 